About John Key

Prime Minister John Key has been the Prime Minister of New Zealand since November 2008 and Leader of the New Zealand National Party since November 2006.

He was born in Auckland, New Zealand but moved to Christchurch, New Zealand when he was a child. He was educated at Burnside High School in Christchurch and then gained a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Canterbury.

Mr Key launched his investment banking career in New Zealand in the mid-1980s. After 10 years in the New Zealand market he headed offshore, working in Singapore, London, and Sydney for US investment banking firm Merrill Lynch. During that time he was in charge of a number of business units, including global foreign exchange and European bond and derivative trading. In 1999, he was invited to join the Foreign Exchange Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and on two occasions undertook management studies at Harvard University in Boston.

In 2001, he headed back to New Zealand to fulfil a long held ambition to stand for Parliament for the National Party. He first won the Helensville seat in 2002. Mr Key quickly rose through the ranks and was elected leader of the National Party on 27 November 2006.

In 2014, Mr Key led the National Party to its third consecutive election victory, and increased its number of seats in Parliament from both the 2008 and 2011 elections. He is currently the Prime Minister of the National-led Government as well as Minister of Tourism.

Mr Key is married to Bronagh and has two children – Stephie and Max. When he has some spare time, he likes to spend it with his family, cooking, playing golf, and watching rugby.